A record number of yachties is expected on Auckland's Hauraki Gulf this weekend for the 2005 Sir Peter Blake Memorial Regatta.
Entry numbers have already exceeded last year's 276 and participants are still able to enter up to and over the weekend.
The two-day regatta consists of 17 different classesincluding classics such as Zephyrs, Mistrals and Hobies, Opti, P Class, Starling, Laser and keelers.
International entries have been received from Japan, Switzerland, Germany and New Caledonia while sailors from around New Zealand will travel to Auckland to compete.
Supported by the Sir Peter Blake Trust, the regatta will be sailed over eight courses in the waters off Torbay and the East Coast Bays with the multihulls, Etchells and other keelers sailing further out towards Tiritiri and Rakino.
The Torbay club regatta was renamed the Sir Peter Blake Memorial Regatta in 2002 in memory of the former Team New Zealand head who was killed by pirates in December 2001 during an environmental voyage on the Amazon.
The regatta aims to educate participants about the environment. Racing starts today and tomorrow around 10am.
